


Hearts and Bouquets

by cleanlittlesecret



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Gen, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-26 19:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3862543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleanlittlesecret/pseuds/cleanlittlesecret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Just a minute, Mom! It’s gonna be a surprise, so stay there!"</p>
<p>(Originally written for the prompt "Happy Anniversary!")</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hearts and Bouquets

**Author's Note:**

> Youko technically being a single parent is so important to me.

Youko was standing in front of the stove when she heard the familiar whoosh of Yuuya sliding down the fire pole. She spoke without looking up from her work. “How many pancakes do you want this morning, Yuu–” The sound of a door slamming cut her off, and she turned from the stove to find the living room was empty. “Yuuya?”

The front door opened, and Yuuya stuck his head in to give her a mischievous grin. “Just a minute, Mom! It’s gonna be a surprise, so stay there!”

“What are you–” Youko started, but the door shut again. Her eyebrows lowered. “What is he up to…?” She shook her head and turned back to her pancakes, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. In the months since his dad disappeared, Yuuya had cycled between desperate hope and lethargic despair so many times, so although his current behavior didn’t make sense to her, it was good to catch a glimpse of his old personality. If Yuuya wanted to surprise her, then she could play along.

When the door opened a few minutes later, Youko focused on sliding her current pancake off onto a plate. She could track Yuuya’s movements by the pad of his feet and the giggles of his breath, but when he reached up to tug on the strings of her apron, she let out an overdone gasp and whirled around. “Yuuya, when did you come back in?!”

Yuuya laughed and raised a hand for her attention. “For you!” He held a small bunch of flowers, mostly wildflowers and dandelions, but also a few that looked suspiciously similar to the ones their neighbor grew.

“Oh, thank you,” Youko said as she accepted the small bouquet. “I’ll put them in a vase.”

As it turned out, they didn’t have a vase. Youko put the flowers in a glass and set it on the table, and Yuuya beamed at the arrangement. “Dad always gave you flowers, right?”

“What do you…” Youko’s voice trailed, but she when she saw the serious look on Yuuya’s face, she realized what he had referred to. “You mean for our wedding anniversary?”

Yuuya nodded, and Youko’s heart warmed in her chest. Even with everything that had happened in the last few months, even though the date didn’t directly affect him the way a holiday or birthday would, he remembered. Yuuya got up on a chair so he could reach the bouquet and adjust it.

“You’re right,” Youko said, lifting a plate of pancakes off the counter and setting it in front of her son. “So how about we do something today to celebrate?”

“Really?” Yuuya brightened. “Can we go to the park? Can we have cake? Can Gongenzaka come with us?”

“Eat your breakfast, and then we’ll discuss it.” Youko laughed to herself as she went back to make her own plate. “Oh, and you were a little bit off. There was one year your dad forgot to give me flowers.” Yuuya was in the middle of dowsing his pancakes in syrup, but he stopped to stare at her. She continued, “It was the year you were born. Your dad was still so excited about you that he forgot…”


End file.
